Image SoCs support H.264 video compression

NEC Electronics Corp. and its subsidiaries in Europe and the Americas, NEC Electronics (Europe) GmbH and NEC Electronics America Inc., have introduced two image-processing solutions based on NEC Electronics' enhanced multimedia architecture (EMMA) platform. The EMMA3SL/HD and EMMA3SL/SD devices enable users to build STBs and DTVs with next-generation H.264 video compression standard, which offers twice the compression ratio as the current MPEG2 standard. The EMMA3SL/SD SoC supports standard-definition video broadcasts, while the EMMA3SL/HD SoC supports high-definition broadcasts. The devices are the latest additions to NEC Electronics' family of H.264-compliant EMMA3 SoCs, which have achieved market success since 2006 in blue laser DVD players and high-definition TV products.

Apart from having an H.264-compliant video decoder, the devices combine all key functions needed to receive and decode digital broadcasts, including built-in DSPs that enable systems using Dolby Digital Plus or high-efficiency advanced audio coding (HE-AAC) to play back high-quality audio streams even at low transfer rates.

A built-in Enhanced Host Controller Interface (EHCI)-compliant USB 2.0 host controller and IEEE 802.3/802.3u/802.3x-compliant Ethernet media access controller (MAC) replace the external components traditionally required. This integration enables low-cost connection to external devices and networks and makes it easy for systems to import and process video and audio streams.

The EMMA3SL/HD SoC includes a built-in HDMI-compliant interface for digital transmission of uncompressed video and audio streams, a built-in deinterlacer to convert interlaced signals into progressive signals and a built-in fast DAC to produce HD signal output.

NEC Electronics expects strong demand for the new EMMA chips in Europe, Russia, India, Brazil and other STB markets where H.264 video compression, Dolby Digital Plus and HE-AAC have been growing in popularity.

Since launching its first EMMA chip—the world's first SoC for STBs with digital broadcast receivers—in 1998, NEC Electronics has been actively developing a wider selection of EMMA products with greater functionality for STBs, DTVs, and DVD recorders.

The EMMA devices are available now in sample quantities, with pricing starting at $50 for the EMMA3SL/HD and $40 for the EMMA3SL/SD. Volume production is scheduled to begin by Q3 08 and expected to reach 300,000 units per month for each product. Pricing and availability are subject to change without notice.